Workers
Memorial Day service in Portland
Family and friends of Jeff Helgeson (foreground) raise a flag in
his memory during a Workers Memorial Day ceremony April 28 sponsored
by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Helgeson, a member of Laborers
Local 320, was killed on the job in July 2007 after being struck
in the head by a falling 8-foot jackhammer on a downtown Portland
construction project. He was one of more than 59 workers killed
on the job in Oregon in 2007. In the back-ground, flags are raised
in remembrance of each of those workers.

Union
adversary Bill Sizemore poised for comeback
On April 18, ballot measure activist Bill Sizemore appeared in Multnomah
County Circuit Court for a hearing on whether he should be held in
contempt of court. And yet in Salem, the Oregon secretary of state
may be on track to approve six of Sizemore’s initiatives for
the November 2008 ballot.Three
union-friendly Democrats in running for Oregon secretary of state
All three candidates for the Democratic nomination for Oregon secretary
of state this year are state senators, and all three have a reputation
among Oregon unions as friends of labor. But Kate Brown, Rick Metsger,
and Vicki Walker differ in their approaches to a job that most Oregonians
are only dimly aware of.Lifelong
union activist Michael Dembrow campaigns hard for House seatMichael
Dembrow, 56, is the kind of trade union true believer who keeps
inspiration alive in the labor movement. Now he’s making a
serious run for a seat in the Oregon House of Representatives. In
a three-way race with two well-funded opponents, Dembrow has the
backing of organized labor.AFT
turns up heat in nurse union campaign at Legacy
American Federation of Teachers has been trying to unionize 3,000
nurses at Legacy Health System for four years. Over the last month,
the campaign has been turning up the heat: Union organizers have
begun publicly distributing leaflets embarrassing to Legacy. And
the union is getting ready to request a government-run union election.
City
of Portland workers get chance to help elect their own bosses AFSCME
Local 189, which represents about 1,100 city workers, is backing
Sam Adams for mayor and Nick Fish and Randy Leonard for City Council,
and is staying out of the race to fill the Council seat Adams is
vacating. Laborers Local 483, which represents about 600 city workers,
also backs Fish and Leonard, plus Amanda Fritz for Adams’
seat, but is making no endorsement in the mayor’s race.Connie
Ashbrook: Bringing women to the tradesIn
the late '60s, Connie Ashbrook's high school offered shop classes.
For boys only. But when she entered the workforce, legal barriers
to women were coming down. In 1987, Ashbrook became Oregon’s
first female journeyman elevator mechanic. She helped found Oregon
Tradeswomen, Inc. — one of about 10 groups nationwide that
work to recruit women to join building trades unions; 19 years later,
1 in 20 Oregon apprentices is a woman.Classified
employees ratify four-year contract at Portland School District
The Portland Federation of Teachers and Classified Employees Local
111 ratified a new four-year contract with Portland Public Schools.
Over the life of the contract, members will get a wage increase
of 6.5 to 10 percent.Columbia-Pacific
Building Trades Council backs several local candidates
The Columbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council is
endorsing Sam Adams for Portland mayor — as well as several
other candidates in city and county races within its jurisdiction.